


She's a Regular

by BaronVonChop



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkward Flirting, F/F, Flirting, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 12:37:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16995135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaronVonChop/pseuds/BaronVonChop
Summary: Adora drags Bow and Glimmer to the coffee shop where Catra works. Catra flirts with Adora and antagonizes her friends. Bow and Glimmer know that there is only one solution.





	She's a Regular

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the Coffee Shop AU art by [kg-nonameh](http://kg-nonameh.tumblr.com/):  
> <http://kg-nonameh.tumblr.com/post/180383384293/we-can-begin-with-aus-right-i-mean-coffee>  
> <http://kg-nonameh.tumblr.com/post/180426493178/as-i-was-stating-in-my-previous-essay-i-have-some>  
> <http://kg-nonameh.tumblr.com/post/180534826703/catra-we-come-here-literally-every-day-she>

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow walk together along the sidewalk, enjoying the brisk fall day. A fresh breeze rattles the orange leaves of the trees along the sidewalk and sends some fallen leaves skittering underfoot. Adora walks a little ahead of her friends, her hands in the pockets of her red-and-white letterman jacket.

"Slow down, Adora!" Glimmer calls. She is wearing a sleeveless purple turtleneck that matches her purple hair. "Some of us have short legs and can't keep up with your giant strides!"

Bow steps on a particularly large leaf with a satisfying crunch. Like Glimmer, his arms are bare, and he wears a puffy yellow vest over a red crop top. "It's not like the coffee shop is going to run out of coffee."

"Sorry," Adora says, slowing her pace so that her friends can catch up. "My mind kind of wandered."

"Uh huh," Glimmer replies. "You know, we could try another coffee shop…" She shrugs, trying to keep her tone light, "There are lots we haven't even tried yet."

Adora's brow furrows as she looked at her friend. "What's wrong with Coffee Horde?"

Glimmer's smile is perhaps a little too wide. "Oh, nothing, nothing. Forget I said anything! It's fine. In fact, it's great! And we're almost there, so, yay?" She turns to Bow and gives him a helpless, apologetic look.

Bow says, "It's just that… I mean, you've probably noticed…" He trails off, unsure of how to continue.

Adora glances at her reflection in the window of a restaurant. She keeps walking, tugging the hair tie out of her ponytail. She runs her fingers through her hair, gathers it back in a ponytail, and ties it up again. She turns back to Bow. "Noticed what?"

Bow and Glimmer exchange a look but don't say anything else. They have arrived at Coffee Horde, and they know there is nothing they can do now but enter.

* * *

"Hey, Adora," Catra says, leaning on the register with graceful nonchalance. Like all Coffee Horde employees, she wears a red apron, but she somehow makes it look casual. She gives Adora a lazy smile and a slow blink. "Know what you want?"

Adora studies the menu above Catra's head, thinking.

Glimmer clears her throat. "While she's making up her mind, I'll take--"

"Take your time," Catra says, never taking her eyes off Adora.

Scorpia sticks her head around the door leading to the kitchen. She must have been taking some baked goods out of the oven, because she has big red oven mitts on her hands. "What did Ms. Weber say about you leaning on the register?"

Catra straightens quickly while trying to salvage the shreds of her languid demeanor. "I was barely touching it!"

Scorpia points a mitt at Catra. "If you damage another register, Ms. Weber is taking it out of your paycheck!"

Catra bristles. "That was one time…"

Adora throws back her head and laughs. Catra raises her chin and tries to look offended, but then the sight of Adora laughing causes her to smile. Adora settles down, her laughter turning to chuckles, and she says, "I'll have a mocha."

"Coming right up!"

Glimmer steps forward, but Catra has already turned her back to get started on Adora's drink. Glimmer bounces on her tiptoes, trying to get Catra's attention, "Yeah, I'd like… excuse me… I'm ready to order… hello?" She sighs and turns to Bow. "Can you believe this?"

Bow shrugs.

Catra takes her time making Adora's order. A classic Avril Lavigne song is playing on the radio, and Catra bops along to it, her shoulders moving one way while her hips move the other. She turns once to flash Adora a grin, and Adora smiles back at her. When the mocha is ready, Catra pounces over to the counter and deposits the drink. "For you, Adora," she says, dropping her voice a little to make it extra husky. "And if there's anything else…" She trails off into a lazy smile.

Glimmer leans forward over the counter. "Yes, hello, I'd like to order a--"

Catra doesn't break eye contact with Adora. "Double espresso with sprinkles, right?"

Glimmer's hands ball up into fists on the counter. "If you knew what I was going to order, why didn't you just let me order it?"

Catra's eyes sweep over to Bow, her gaze going right over Glimmer's head. "And you're going to ask what Entrapta's special of the day is, right?"

Bow smiles as though Catra were the friendliest server in the world. "If it's not too much trouble."

Entrapta bounds into view from the kitchen. "No trouble at all!" she exclaims. She zips up to the counter with such enthusiasm that Catra has to dodge out of the way, though she pretends that she was merely stepping aside to make Glimmer's espresso. Entrapta does not notice; instead, she pulls a pen from her purple hair, which is an asymmetrical jumble of messy buns and ponytails. She rolls up her sleeve, jots some notes on her forearm under the illegible scrawl already there, rolls up her sleeve again, and replaces the pen in her hair. "Okay! You know how a caffè latte differs from a latte macchiato, right?" Bow starts to answer, but Entrapta cuts him off. "In a caffè latte, milk is added to espresso, while in a latte macchiato, espresso is added to milk."

Bow nods, "Yeah--"

Entrapta continues breathlessly, "So, have you ever wondered what would happen if, instead of adding one to the other, you were to combine them simultaneously?" She makes an excited noise, smiling so hard it looks almost painful.

Bow's smile looks placid by comparison. "I guess you take a cup of milk and a cup of espresso and pour them into a third cup at the same time…"

"Or!" Entrapta practically shouts, "You could shoot a jet of milk and a jet of espresso at each other, _at extremely high pressure!_ "

Bow continues smiling, though the smile wavers a little. "Or that…"

Entrapta tilts her head. "Finally! I've been waiting for someone to order one! I'll be right back!" She dashes back into the kitchen.

A moment later, Scorpia steps out out of the kitchen, shielding a tray of freshly-baked muffins. She gives a slightly worried smile. "Um, Catra, I'm sure Entrapta knows what she's doing, but just in case…"

Catra holds up her cell phone. "Fire department, hospital, and bomb squad, all on speed dial."

Scorpia nods. "Yeah, that should cover it."

Bow looks from Catra to Scorpia. "If it's safer, I could just order something else…"

Scorpia holds the tray in one hand and waves a red mitt dismissively. "And deny Entrapta this opportunity? No way!"

Entrapta's voice comes from the kitchen. "Yeowch! Ha ha! It's working!" There is a series of crashes, bangs, and gurgles from the kitchen. A few moments later, Entrapta zooms out of the kitchen and over to the counter, where she hands a drink to Catra. Catra writes Glimmer's name on it and places it on the counter next to Bow's.

Bow and Glimmer take their drinks, only to see that Catra has written their names as "Clipper" and "Bob." They give Catra dark looks, but she twirls the marker with a smirk. "Enjoy!"

Seeing the looks on her friends' faces, Adora takes out her wallet as quickly as she can. "My treat!" She pays and ushers her friends to a table.

They sit and try their drinks. After a few moments, Glimmer throws up her hands. "I can't believe Catra! We come here all the time. I know she knows how to spell my name! I mean, 'Clipper?' Come on!"

Adora reaches for Glimmer's cup. "I'm sure she was just writing it fast. Maybe she… oh, no, you're right. That definitely says 'Clipper.' Huh."

Glimmer takes her cup back and takes a long drink. "This isn't even that good an espresso," she grumbles.

"My mocha tastes fine," Adora says. She glances at Bow, who is studying his cup. "How's yours?"

Bow's eyes slowly go up. "Pretty good. It's kinda like a caffè latte and kinda like a latte macchiato… and yet… not like them." He takes another sip. "I have to say, Entrapta's some kind of genius. A genius who circumvents safety laws in her quest to create new drinks, but definitely a genius."

Adora leans back. "Well, I'm glad you like it here!"

Bow opens his mouth and hesitates. "I mean…"

Glimmer darts a glare toward the counter. "Bow doesn't like Catra, either."

Bow sighs. "She can be kind of a jerk." He studies his cup, avoiding Adora's eyes. "And by 'she can be,' I mean she pretty much always is."

Adora says, "Catra just takes some time to get used to."

"Adora," Glimmer says, clearly making an effort to keep her voice gentle, "We've been coming here for months, and Catra has only gotten worse. I know you like it when she flirts with you, but maybe--"

Adora scoffs, perhaps too loudly. "She's not flirting with me! We're just old friends."

Bow shakes his head a little. "Come on. You must know she's flirting with you."

"She's just…" Adora tries to find the right words. "Just Catra."

"And you're not flirting with her?" Bow asks.

"What? No!" Adora laughs, and she sounds genuinely surprised.

Bow exchanges a glance with Glimmer. Bow chooses his words carefully. "Okay… which is why, whenever we come here, you always wear that letterman jacket from the high school you both went to?"

"This?" Adora looks down at herself. "I wear this all the time!"

"Yes," Glimmer says, "and we come here all the time!"

"So… you guys don't want to come here anymore?"

"It's not that…" Bow begins, but Glimmer makes a strangled sound, and Bow continues, "Okay, yeah, that's part of it… but in order for that to happen…"

Adora blinks. "What?"

Moaning, Glimmer leans forward until she's lying on the table. "Just ask her ooouuuuut."

"Huh?"

"Auuuuugh." Glimmer is now face-down on the table.

"Adora, we love you, and we're here to support you," Bow says. "Now go ask Catra out so that we can never come back here again."

Adora looks from Bow to the back of Glimmer's head and back. "Are you sure?"

"Goooooo," Glimmer groans.

Adora stands and starts to walk toward the counter, then hesitates and turns back. Bow makes shooing motions toward her, and Glimmer raises a despondent thumbs-up from the table top. Adora steels herself, turns, and walks to the counter.

Catra is finishing someone's order, and she literally throws it at the customer when she sees Adora walking over. The customer, a slim, blond young man, juggles the cup for a second before managing to somehow catch it. He hurries away to his table, where a big guy in green and a buff, mohawked girl are sitting.

"Hey, Adora," Catra says, leaning against the register.

"Catra, I was wondering…" Adora takes a deep breath. "Do you want to go see a movie tomorrow? I think the theater--"

"Yes!" Catra makes a visible effort to keep her lazy smile from turning into a grin, but she fails. "Definitely!"

Adora feels herself grinning, too. She hears Bow give a quiet whoop, and she thinks she hears Glimmer say "Finally." Adora leans one hand on the counter. "Cool. Awesome. And maybe dinner after?"

Catra leans forward. "Yeah, I'd like that--"

At that moment, the cash register's display snaps off, causing Catra to fall forward across the counter. Acting on instinct, Adora catches her. They look into each other's eyes…

Scorpia calls from the kitchen. "Oh man, wait 'til Ms. Weber finds out you broke the register again! You're gonna be in so much trouble!"

**Author's Note:**

> The Avril Lavigne song is Girlfriend, because [this AMV by All Magic Comes With Rice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqboiP-yzZY) is so good.


End file.
